Automatic gate



1935- w. s. SNELGROVE 1,987,031

AUTOMATIC GATE Filed June 29, 1933 I5 Sheets-Sheet l Jaib 1935. w. s. SNELGROVE 1,937,031

AUTOMATIC GATE Filed June 29, 1933 3 Sheets-Shet a I mm.

1 2. F jg.'z

M ii TJJnelgrop,

SHOGMAAJ Patented Jan. 8, 1935 i Application June '29,

This invention relates to automaticgates such as are-arranged to open and close upon the approach anddepartureofavehicle. .More especially the "invention relates to the type of gates used on farmshighwayS and railroads and thelike.

1 One important object of the invention is to provide an improved construction of gates of this A second importantobjectof the invention is to I provide a novel-and improved construction of gate which may' have. its operative parts constructed economically of rods, pipes, and the like; bentand shaped to suittheir use."

A third importantuobjectof the provide a gate of this class having agate track one end of which. is raised by aspring to open the gate so that the track is given a vibratory movement assisting the movement of the gate along invention is to A fourth'important object of the invention is to provide a novel arrangement of latchfmeans for releasablyholding the gate in its open and closed positions, thela-tch means being arranged to release by tilting of the gatetrack inone direction andvthe other. o

A fifth important .object' of the provide a novel spring means for giving the gate its initial opening, and closing-movements, the spring means being, tensionedby the inertia of the gatle itself in opening-and-closing.

Withthe above-and other objects in vi invention consists in general of: certain novel details: of construction hereinafter fully described, ying drawings, and

invention is to illustrated in the, accompan specifically claimed;

' In-the accompanying drawings; 1 of referenceindicate like parts in the "several views,

"Ike characters I l pipes ,or'rods, thus assuring great economy the re '1 is a front elevation of the invention" i with the gate in open position.

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Figure 3- is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section, of certain of the operating parts of the invention.

Figure 4 is a section onthe line 4-4 offFigure Figure '7 is an enlarge c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I HAUTOMA'TIC GATE William S. Snelgro ve, Milledgeville, Ga.

1933, SerialNo. 678,275 6 Claims. (C l. 39-67) Figure 3 is a section on the line 8-8 of Figure '7. 1

Figure 9 is a detail elevation of the-upper end of a telescoping gate part used herewith and showing. the connection of the track thereto.

Figure 10 is an enlarged section on the line 10-10-iof Figure 5; v

Figure 11 is a detail elevation showing a gate post; to which the track-is pivoted.

Figure 12 is a section on the line; 1 2--'12- of. v1'

Figure 11. 1 t

Figure 13" is a detail elevation showing thelatch for holding the gate open. a I

Figure 14 is an enlarged detail elevation of a.

portioncof the linkage at the right end of Fig- 1-5 ure'2. 1

Figure 15 i's a view similar to Figure .M-but showing a portion of the left end of Figure 2. Figure 16 is an enlarged'section on the line 16-1-6 of Figure 1. c

Figure 17 is an enlarged section on the line- 17-17 of Figure 1. Figure 18 is a detail showing portions ofthe gate and the spring for startingj-the closing movement of the gate. I v p While theinventionis capable of a wide variety ofuses and may be constructed withagreat variationindetail and in many embodiments, one embodiment suitable for use as a; farm field gate is] shown inthe-accompa-nying drawings as illustrating the general principles of construction and operation of gates in accordance with the invention. It is, however, to be understood that the inventionis not to be restricted, inform,

proportions, and details by reason of but one embodiment being shown.-

'In the embodiment here shown it is to be noted that most of the various partsvare constructedzof.

productionof these: gates;

' of piping or tubing which is supported vertically on a suitable foundation. Spaced from this part is a second part which consists-of. a lower'member. 11 of pipingor. tubing and" an upperztubular member 12' which is slidably mounted in the upper'part of themember 11 and is supported on a coiled. compression spring 13 which is held in the lower part of the member 11. The upper member is thus constantly urged to elevated position. An 1 I beam track 14 hasone end connected to the upper end of the post 10 by a pivot pin 15 and" has connection withlthe'upper' end of the member 12.by a pin andslot connection 16. Thetelescop ingmember 12 is so proportioned that, in its raised from the track by a hanger frame preferably con-g:

structed in the following manner. The sides of the frame are formed by two pairs of hangers 20' which have their lower ends securely fastenedto the upper frame member of, the gate These hangers, at their upper ends, are arranged so that each side has one hanger on one side of the track and the other hanger on the opposite side of said trackL'Theupperzehds-of the'hangers on each side of said track are connected by ties 21 and between the ties are ball bearing rollers 22 which run on the track 14 and thus enablethe frame and gateto traveleasily along said track. A'cover plate 23 covers the space between the ties 21 and protects the rollers from the'weatherl Diagonal braces 24 connect the corners of thehanger frame and serve to stiffen and brace this frame against distortion. l a V In connection with the preferably used a plate 25 *on each face .of ithe wire mesh. This plate may be of any desired color, form, andmaterial. For. instance, part of the platem'ay be highly reflective and .partmay be painted red. Thus, when the gate is closed,

an" approaching motorist will clearly see, in the daytime, a red danger signal and, at night, willhave the lightfrom his headlights reflected from the polished part of the plate. He'is thus warned to slow down on'approaching the gate. A yoke 26 isfixed to the ground adjacent'the free end of the gate, when closed, and stay wires 27 connect the arms of this yoke with the post 10. This 1 yoke is to prevent hogs and the like from forcing that'end of thegate away from the fence in connection'with which it is used, in order to escape from the enclosure." It will here be noted that when the member 12 is elevated the gate will roll toward the post 10 and jwhen'saidmember 12 is depressed the g'ate'will-move toward the post 11. A'latch 28 is pivoted tothe post 10 and the rear leg of the member 17 is provided with a keeper 29 which is engaged by said latch whenthe gate is fully opened; A- spring 30 yieldably holdsthe latch for engagement with the keeper. Fastened to the post 101s one-end of a leaf spring'31whlch,

is'engaged' and stressed by thegate member'l7 as: the gate moves to fully'opene'd position, the inertia of the moving gate being su fllcientto effect this stressingof the spring. Thus, "when the latch engages the keeper, the "spring is held under stress. The arrangement of the latch is such that the spring-normally holds it against a keeper 32 in suchposition that, when the post member 12 isnearly depressed, the keper'releases from thelatch. 1 As soon as this occurs thespring 3li'acts to start the gateon itstravel to closed position. .A similar, but inverted latch,

7 33 is pivoted on the'front leg. of the gate and is held normally against a keeper 34 by a spring 35.

In the postmember 11 Ba pair of'oppositely dis-' posed and longitudinally extending slots 36 through which extend the ends of a cross piece '37, 1 which'cross piece also extends. through the lower gate proper there is part of the member 11 and is notched on its bottom edge to fit the member 11, being held in place by a wedge or key 38, as clearly shown in Figure 10. This cross piece, when the member 11 is in depressed position, forms a keeper for the the latch 33, as shown in Figure 5. On the front leg of the member 17 is fixed one end of a leaf spring 39 which engages at its other end against the post member and is held in stressed condition by the engagement of the latch 33 with the cross piece 37. Obviously, upon the cross piece rising the latch will be released and the spring 39 will start the gate on its travel toward the post 10.

Each of these springs 31 and 39 is provided on its free end with a leg 40 adapted to enter a hole 41 in the member with which the spring engages so members at the left and right. of Figure 2; re-; spectively, are rock arms 44 and 45.

the lower part of the postmember 11 is a fulcrum yoke 46 having oppositely disposed arms to the ends of which bent levers 47 are pivoted inter-:

mediate their ends- The'upper ends. ofthese bent levers are connected by links 48 with the ends of the cross piece 37. Forks 49 are pivoted to the lower ends of the respective levers 4'1.and are fixed in the ends of pipes 50. in the opposite:

ISecuredto ends .of which side rods .51 which have their outer 1 ends pivoted to the respective rock arms 44 and 45. The pipes 50 are provided with slots.,52and keys 53 carried by the inner. ends of rods 51 which move in these slots. I The, arrangement of the keys and slots is such that, upon the rockingof either rocking member-and rock arm awayfrom the gatethe telescopic link formed by. the pipe 50 and the rod 51 of that side of the gate will pull the lower end of the lever towhichthat link is attached awayfrom the postfias in Figure 3.and thus effect depression'of' the cross piece 37 and consequently. of the track at the end' connected to the postmember 11. This, of course, ':om-

presses thespring 13. "Also,'the other lever 4'7 will moveand force the pipe 50 to which it is attached outwardly to telescope on its rod 51, thus leaving the remaining rocking member 42 at rest. In order to'holdthe crosspiece down there is provided a latch 54 which is pivoted intermediate its.

ends to the fulcrum'yoke 46. The upper end of this latchengages akey orkeeper 55 which is car-. ried by the member 12 and works in a verticalslot 56 .formed in the member 11. This latch is normally held in position .to engage its keeper bya spring 5'7 which has one end connected to the lower end of the latch and. its other end connected to the outer end of a bracket 58'carried by the post member 11. 'A connecting-piece'59 is also pivoted to the lower endof the latch member and on each end of this connecting piece is fixed a pipe 60 in the outerpart of whichliesa' rod 61, each rod'and pipe thus forming a telescopic link. The outer ends of the rods 61 are connected respectivelyto an arm 62 formed on the rock arm 44 and to a rock arm 63 carried by the other member'42. The arrangement of} the telescopic links formed by the pipes 60and rods 61 is such that when either member 42 15 rockedtowards the gate i the latch '54 I will be moved to release the keeper 55, while movementm'f either memberAZ-"in: the) opposite: direction from its nor- .mal 1 position will :not 'la fiect ;the slatch. To .this end, each ,member .60 ;is provided with Elongitudin'al slots :64: in .whichworksat key .65 carried sbyi the corresponding memberafil. ':-'Between each :key and-tan 1adjustablecoilarrzd6 on the a respective pipe '60 is a. coiled compressionspring '67 which, at the: left of:-l1"igure (2,, holds .thevkey 65' substantiallywcentral of theslots 64 andat therig'htof Figure 2 holdsvthe key in the :outer ends (of .said slots. i 1

.lI-n orderxto, assist in holdingthe cranks .453, normally'svertical springs '67 arelprovijded, :each of which has-,one end.,-attachedr,to=:a;collar-:68 ladjustably ssecured 3011 ;a .respective pipe 60. The remaining end of :the left hand spring :is attached to anarm projecting from the rock a-Imfi while the, remaining end of the. 'g-ht-ha-nd spring is attached to a rock :armv 7 -;-on-;t-he 1 right .handrockingmember '42.

,I-n this embodiment, the gate is normally closed-with the spring -13 compressed. z Onthe approach of the vehicle, the rocking member at the side of the gate from which the vehicle is approaching :is rocked :toward the gate. This effects, in the manner previously described, the release of the latch 54, so that the member 12 connected to the track at the end and carried thereby is thrown upwardly by the spring 13. At the same time, the latch 33 is released and the spring 39 starts the gate down the track, its movement being assisted by the vibratory eiTect of the spring 13. The gate opens and catches against the post 10. The vehicle passes through the open gateway and engages the other rocking member 42 to rock it away from the gate. This actuates the linkage, in the manner already described, which depresses the member 12 and unlatches the gate from the post 16 to allow the spring 31 to start it down the track which is now inclined downwardly from the post 10. Consequently, the gate closes and is latched in closed position ready for a subsequent operation.

Obviously, if the gate is used as a railway crossing gate it will be normally open, being closed by the approach of a train and opened by the passage of the train beyond the crossing. Naturally, in this case the linkage for tripping the latch 54 and for depressing the post member 12 will be somewhat changed in detail but the principles of construction and operation will remain the same.

There has thus been provided a highly effective device of the kind described and for the purpose specified.

It is obvious that changesmay be made in the form, construction, and proportions of the invention without departing from the material substance of the same. It is not, therefore, desired to confine the invention to the embodiment here shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as come within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an automatic gate device, a gate post, a supporting track having one end pivoted to said gate post, a second gate post including a lower and an upper member, telescopically connected and having the remaining end of the track carried by the upper member, said upper member being arranged when elevated to incline the track downwardly towards its pivotal end and when depressed to incline the track in ,the opposite= direction, a gate I adapted to =roll on sai-d track, -='between said posts,- means urging saidupp'en member to elevated I position, I latch meansreleasably holding. the upper member in depressed position, and vehicle actuated-means i3 :movable into a second position to depress B said zupper memberbythe passage of a vehicle'in the oppositeidirection.

- :12.- In an automatic gate device, a gatelpost,

.a.trackhaving*one end pivoted to :said-postpa second gate post consisting of a tubular J lower member and-"an upper member vertically slidable in fthedewer:member :andrhaving anend oflthe track attached thereto, 'the movement of the upper member being such as to incline .the track in oppositerdirections, a gate adapted to rollion 'the.-'trac-k,a a spring insaid tubular member urging the :upper member .to raised position, said :lower membenhaving a passage therethrough,a:cross .pieceycarr ed bytheupper member and project .ing through said .ipassage, a :keeper :carried by the upper member, a :latch adapted to engage said keeper, vehicle actuated means movable in two directions, an operative connection between said means and latch to release the keeper as the means is moved in one direction, and a second operative connection between said means and the cross-piece arranged to depress the upper post member upon said means being moved in the opposite direction.

3. In an automatic gate device, agate post, a gate supporting track having one end pivoted to the upper end of said post, a second gate post consisting oi'a tubular lower member and anupper member vertically slidable in the upper part of the lower member and having the remaining end of the track attached, the movement of the upper member between its upper and lower positions being such as to incline downward to yvards and downwardly from its pivot respectively, a gate adapted to roll on said track from one post tothe other as the track is tilted, a spring in said-tubular member urging the upper member to raised position, said lower member having oppositely disposed slots, a cross piece carried by the upper member and projecting through said slots, latching-mechanism associated with the upper member and adapted to hold the same in its lower position, a rockable member arranged to be rocked by a moving vehicle toward and from thegate respectively, a linkage connecting the rockable member and the latching mechanism to release the latter upon movement of the rocking member in one direction, and a linkage connecting the rocking member and cross piece to depress'the latter upon movement of the rocking member in the oppofrom one post to the other as the track is tilted, a spring in said tubular member urging the upper member to raised position, said lower member having oppositely disposed slots, a cross, piece carried by the upper member and projecting through said slots, latch mechanism associated with the upper member and adapted to hold the same in its lower position, a rockable member arranged-to be rocked by a moving vehicle toward and from the gate respectively, a pair of telescopically arranged members connecting said rockable member and latch mechanism to operate the latter as the rocking member moves in one direction, spring means between the last mentioned telescopic members and yieldably holding said members in normally telescoped relation, and a linkage connecting the rocking member and cross piece to depress the cross piece upon movement of the rocking member in the opposit direction.

5. In an automatic gate device, gate posts, a

gate mounted to travel between the posts, means for causing the gate to travel, means carried by the gate and a post for latching the gate against travelling movement, means for releasing said latching means, and a spring interposed between the gate and a post for imparting an initial movement to the gate upon operation of the travel causing means.

6. In an automatic gate device, a gate post, a track having one end. pivoted to said post, a second gate post including a tubular lower member and a depressible member vertically slidable in the lower member and having an end ofthe track attached thereto, the movement of the upper member being such as to incline the track in opposite directions, a gate adapted to roll on said track, a spring in said tubular member urging the upper member to raised position, a cross piece carried by the upper member, latching mechanism associated with said uppermember and adapted to'hold said member in depressed position, vehicle actuated means movable in two directions, an operative connection between the vehicle actuated means and said latchingfr'nechanism to release said depressible member when said vehicle actuated means is moved in one direction and an operative connection between said vehicle actuated means and the crosspiece arranged to depress the depressible member when the vehicle actuated means is moved in the other direction.

WILLIAM s. SNELGROVEr 

